More people are killed by the concept that citizens should carry guns for self-defence than are ever saved (from anything, not just death) by them. The U.S., with its horrific rate of gun death (very few of them being people shooting criminals in self-defence, even less where this was actually necessary for their protection), is actually really good proof of this point.
It's a bad idea. It has always been a bad idea. It does not work in practice, statistically speaking, and no amount of anecdotes will ever change that. It appeals to people who think life is an action movie. It isn't.
As for the American deficit, bluntly, it isn't a realistic priority. And it certainly wasn't a priority for the vast majority of conservatives under Bush, or his father, or Reagan, all of whom ran massive deficits. Regardless of that, the deficit, while a problem, is not an existential problem for the US - it is not in danger of becoming an unsustainable expense any time soon, nor will any amount of realistic cutting (particularly since there is no serious support for a substantial reduction to the military budget) affect the budgetary situation in the short or even medium-term. The problem for the US is that the overall economy isn't recovering because most Americans do not have the income necessary to refloat it, due to real wages not rising for decades. Without fixing that, any amount of cost-cutting may clear out the deficit (eventually) but will not fix the underlying economic problems.
Nor is it likely to be a political priority for Obama, since history shows quite consistently that people do not actually care about deficits as a voting issue regardless of political rhetoric about them. Obama pretended to care about the deficit in opposition and doesn't now that he's in power - the Republicans have in the past and most assuredly would in the future behave the same way.
It's a bad idea. It has always been a bad idea. It does not work in practice, statistically speaking, and no amount of anecdotes will ever change that. It appeals to people who think life is an action movie. It isn't.
As for the American deficit, bluntly, it isn't a realistic priority. And it certainly wasn't a priority for the vast majority of conservatives under Bush, or his father, or Reagan, all of whom ran massive deficits. Regardless of that, the deficit, while a problem, is not an existential problem for the US - it is not in danger of becoming an unsustainable expense any time soon, nor will any amount of realistic cutting (particularly since there is no serious support for a substantial reduction to the military budget) affect the budgetary situation in the short or even medium-term. The problem for the US is that the overall economy isn't recovering because most Americans do not have the income necessary to refloat it, due to real wages not rising for decades. Without fixing that, any amount of cost-cutting may clear out the deficit (eventually) but will not fix the underlying economic problems.
Nor is it likely to be a political priority for Obama, since history shows quite consistently that people do not actually care about deficits as a voting issue regardless of political rhetoric about them. Obama pretended to care about the deficit in opposition and doesn't now that he's in power - the Republicans have in the past and most assuredly would in the future behave the same way.